Scrapping the CCAC’s

Health Minister Eric Hoskins is moving quickly to scrap the 14 Community Care Access Centres in Ontario. These are the agencies that were set up to provide home care and post-hospital treatment for millions of Ontario residents. But the CCAC’s became bloated bureaucracies spending only 62 cents of every dollar on front line patient care. Provincial sunshine lists were filled with the names of CCAC executives and managers, some earning in excess of $300,000. Meanwhile the individuals and agencies who delivered care were being squeezed financially, many front-liners making not much more than minimum wage. The only problem with Hoskins’ plan is that he is transferring the home care work to the Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) who dole out health care funds at the regional level. Some critics’ think the LHIN’s are themselves bloated bureaucracies. In any event, the LHINs are not currently equipped to manage the new responsibility. So look for who knows how many of those sunshine-listers from the CCAC’s to migrate to the LHIN’s. Let’s hope it’s not a case of different alphabet—same old situation.